Loc (Untamed Warriors Book 2), page 12
I charged them and threw myself at the man on top. My momentum knocked him off and together we tumbled to the ground. I landed on top, and I did my best to hit him, smacking him several times before he rolled his hips and tossed me to the side like I was nothing.
The rocks bit into my back. The air whooshed out of my lungs. Pain exploded in the back of my head. My vision darkened for half a second. I blinked my eyes. Stay alert Max.
The orion appeared above me. He pressed his weight into me as he sat on my belly. His hands went to my neck, and he squeezed. I wriggled beneath him. Both my hands went to his wrist, trying to wrench them away. Did he mean to kill me? Knock me out? I couldn’t be sure, but I didn’t want to find out.
I thrashed beneath him. One of my hands lifted and pushed against his chin. I just needed to get him off me so I could breathe. My lungs screamed trying to take in air. I couldn’t breathe. I let go of his wrist and tried to hit him in the head or arm as best I could. My fist connected but it didn’t deter him. My movements became sluggish. I was losing strength. My vision tunneled. I didn’t want to die.
Chapter Sixteen
Max
I beat my hand against the alien’s arm, but it did nothing to stop him. My vision was darkening. Everything was a blur. I didn’t want to stop fighting. I couldn’t.
The orion stiffened and then flew to the side. The pressure on my throat loosened and I gulped in a deep breath. I could breathe. My lungs felt like they were on fire, but I was breathing again. A figure loomed over me. I braced myself to be struck again, but I wasn’t sure how much more I could take.
“Max, you are injured,” Suzie said.
“Suzie?” I coughed out, my voice hoarse. She’d saved me.
“Don’t move. Let me assess your injuries,” Suzie said. She pulled out her scanning tool. “Loc wants you on the ship. He sent me to come collect you.”
I ignored her and sat up anyway. It was a mistake. Dizziness washed over me, and the room spun. I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth. The feeling passed after a moment. I stood up. We didn’t have time to assess my injuries now. We were being overrun. “Help Zimi,” I said pointing to my friend who was unconscious. An orion officer was getting ready to hoist her up and take her God only knew where. I wasn’t going to let that happen.
Suzie looked like she might object but then went to the alien. A needle thing popped out from her middle and it sunk into the alien’s skin. He wavered on his feet a moment before collapsing.
Zimi hit the ground hard and didn’t move. I hurried over to her and dropped to my knees. My fingers went to her throat where a pulse should be. Was alien anatomy the same? It was. A steady thrum met my fingers. Thank goodness.
“Get her to the ship, Suzie,” I said.
“What about you? I cannot leave you here. You are injured and enemy warriors are everywhere.”
I looked at Suzie and then at the fighting. It was complete chaos here. The scurcain were greatly outnumbered. They were fighting hard, but it was a losing battle. There were just too many orion warriors.
“I think some women still went down to the spring before we rerouted them. I’m going to make sure they get on the ship.” I couldn’t run and hide. These people had taken us in, given us food and shelter. I wouldn’t abandon them now. “Get Zimi on board and then close up. Don’t open the door for anyone except me or Loc.”
I didn’t give Suzie a chance to argue. I reached for my discarded gun and picked it up. I made my way down the path to the springs. It wasn’t far before I found some of the scurcain. There were only about ten of them. There should have been triple that.
“Is this everyone?” I asked.
“Some went ahead in case our warriors failed,” Kirae, one of the women said. I recognized her as Zimi’s mother. Zimi’s three sisters stood by her side, the youngest holding onto her mother’s knee.
“We need to get to the ship. They are leaving.” If Loc had sent Suzie that meant the first cruiser was away.
“I do not understand,” Kirae said.
“Strix asked Loc to prep the cruisers for immediate departure. The orion have nearly taken the cavern. We need to get out of here.” I didn’t know how long the remaining scurcain could hold back our attackers. “We have to move now before it is too late. Zimi is already on board.”
“The others?” Kirae said. She looked over her shoulder.
I followed her line of sight. There was no one there. I wanted to help them, but who knew how far they had gotten. “We’ll look for them if we can. If they block off our access to the ship, we are in trouble.”
Kirae looked at the tunnel one last time before nodding. “Come on girls. Let’s go.”
I led the way back down the tunnel taking it slowly. I put my back against the wall and peered out. The fighting had stopped. A small group of scurcain were in the center of the room. Prisoners. The orion had them on their knees. I turned away too afraid to know what they planned to do.
“This is the only way to the ships,” Kirae said. “We’ll have to go past this opening.”
I looked back at the opening. It was at least five feet long. There were twelve of us that would have to go past. Would we be able to get past undetected? I peered around again. Warriors had started looking for other scurcain. They were going to the tunnel mouths one by one. We needed to get a move on now.
“We run across a few at a time. Once you get across, keep going,” I said. “Kirae, you lead the first group. Make sure everyone gets to the ships. Be ready to go when I say.”
I looked around the corner again. No one was looking this way. “Go now. Hurry.”
The first group darted across the opening and started their way down the tunnel. I let them get a good start before I waved the next group on. When the third group made it safely across, I was beginning to think this plan of mine might actually work out.
I should have known better. As I went to peek one last time, I came face to face with an orion warrior. I screamed. My heart nearly beat out of my chest. I barely had enough time to aim my blaster and fire.
“Run!” I cried out. I stepped out of my hiding spot and put my finger on the trigger. Laser bolts shot out from the gun in rapid succession. I moved the gun back and forth, hoping that anything that came at me would get caught in the crossfire.
It was a good idea in theory. I didn’t expect to be rushed by twenty men. Some of them went down, but their bodies acted as shields for the others. It didn’t take long for them to reach me and overpower me.
Someone hit me across the face hard enough to knock me to the ground. Coppery warmth flooded my mouth. My face burned from the contact. A man grasped me by the hair and yanked me up by my ponytail. I whimpered from the pain.
“Bring her here with the others,” a man called out.
I looked up as a blue alien separated himself from the crowd. He must be the leader. His getup looked fancy compared to the rest. The men grabbed me by both arms and dragged me across the cavern until I stood in front of him.
“What is a human doing here with the scurcain?” he asked. He grabbed my jaw and turned my head from side to side. “You are a pretty one. I think we can find some use for you.”
He let go of my jaw with a shove. I spat at him. Bloody spittle hit him in the face. Bastard!
He grasped a handful of hair, my ponytail all but gone now. “Or you can die with the rest of your friends if that’s what you prefer ungrateful human. Put her with the rest of the prisoners.”
My eyes widened, my gaze drifting to the scurcain. Strix was still alive. He was in the center of them. His hands on his head. I met his eyes, and my heart sank. He didn’t deserve this, none of them did.
My captors hauled me toward the remaining scurcain. I struggled against their ironclad grip, but it did no good. I wasn’t ready to die. My thoughts drifted to Loc. Did he almost have the ship ready to go? Would he be able to get out of here even if I couldn’t?
A sob escaped me as I thought of the life Loc and I might’ve had. We could have been happy, maybe had a family. I wanted that so bad. Hopefully Loc and the others would be able to get away.
When we reached the other scurcain the men shoved me to the ground and pointed a blaster at my head. I got to my knees and glared at them. Tears streamed down my face. My pulse pounded in my ears. My chest was tight, and I could barely breathe. I was near hysteria, but I refused to look away from them. They were going to have to see my eyes before they killed me.
“Scurcain prisoners, you have been found guilty of abandonment, theft and high treason against your King. Punishment for these crimes is death. Your sentence is to be carried out immediately.”
The leader stared at us, a sick smile slipping over his features. “Men on my mark. Ready. Aim. Fire.”
Chapter Seventeen
Loc
They were going to execute Max. I saw red. I charged out of the tunnel with a roar so loud the cavern walls shook. A few pieces of rock fell from the walls and ceiling and hit some of the warriors. I continued to sprint to where they held Max and what remained of the scurcain.
My fins extended, turning to sharpened points. A few men tried to get in my path, but I cut them down like they were nothing. The only thing I could see was Max. I had to get to her. God if something happened to her, I didn’t know what I would do.
She was my world. My everything. She had given me a new reason to live. Hope for a future. A family. I wasn’t going to lose her.
Men ran at me, and my fins slid through them like they were nothing. I weaved in and out of them. I roared again. More craters fell from the cavern. My momentum had given the scrucain hope. They began fighting back again. Max had gotten to her feet too.
She seemed so close but also so far away. A man had grabbed her. She smacked him, but she was no match for his brute strength. He shoved her to the ground.
I roared again this time it was so loud that almost everyone in the cavern fell to the ground. The noise echoed off the walls. The people closest to me lay unmoving. I wasn’t sure if they were dead or unconscious.
My attention went back to Max. She was on her side with her hands over her ears. I had no idea what I had just done, but it had been effective.
I reached Max in record time. She flinched and batted at my hands until she realized it was me.
“Loc,” she whispered. She put her arms around my neck as I hauled her up into my arms.
“I have you, my love.” I pressed a kiss to her forehead. Then looked to the scurcain. They seemed disoriented too. “We need to move.” I had no idea how long the orion would be disabled, but I wasn’t waiting around to find out.
I didn’t wait for the scurcain to get to their feet, instead hoping they would follow me. I ran to the hangar where the ship was. We were already full to capacity, but I wasn’t going to leave anyone behind that made it here.
We twisted around the corners, thankfully without incident. I hurried up the ramp and looked behind me. Most of the remaining scurcain men were right behind us. A few of the women hurried out to help them board the ship.
I took Max to the infirmary and set her down on one of the tables. “Suzie,” I called. “Help Max.”
Suzie hurried over already pulling out her scanner.
I peered over at her. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” I pressed a kiss to her lips and then hurried to the bridge. We needed to get out of here.
I sat down in the captain’s chair and prepped for takeoff. This ship didn’t have much in the way of weapons, just the basic guns. It would hopefully do. I initiated the thrusters and then moved the ship forward careful not to collide with the walls, roof, or ground.
The tunnel leading outside was thankfully straight instead of having corners like every other one in this underground cavern. I could see the light of the sun and I sped up. I had no idea what might be waiting for us outside the walls, and I didn’t want to find out either.
The second we exited the tunnel I headed straight for space. I wished I’d had time to go over and test the repairs I’d made last minute today, but I’d make do. Hopefully she held together.
We were getting ready to hit the barrier between atmosphere and space when something struck us from behind. We were getting fired on. I darted to the right taking evasive maneuvers. I hoped everyone was strapped in or at least sitting down. It was about to get bumpy.
I dropped us down, using the momentum to speed us up. Maybe we could outrun them. I flew just above the trees and was able to avoid getting hit again. Looking at the radar though there were three ships on our tail. Worse yet, there were another twelve in orbit around the planet.
We were going to have to just go for it. I said a silent prayer to the Gods and gunned it for space. The second we got out of orbit I’d jump us to faster than light and then we should be safe for at least a little bit.
Green laser bolts flew past the sides of the ship. I bobbed and weaved hoping to make us a harder target. We only needed another minute maybe two before we could jump. I just needed to hold on a little longer.
I pressed a few buttons and got the ship ready for the jump. My finger hovered over the button as I watched the console. Come on. Come on.
I punched the button in, and we zoomed out of there. It wasn’t fast enough. At the last second something hit us hard. We were in light speed for only a few seconds before we popped out again. Warning alarms sounded from multiple systems.
We had a fire on the lower deck that had been sealed off and was being put out. Life support was holding, but our main engine had blown. We were dead in the air. Drifting. This was every crew’s worst nightmare. I pulled up the radar. There was nothing out there. I sighed. That was both good and bad news. There were no enemy ships, but there were also no planets either. We were floating with nothing in sight.
I scrubbed a hand over my face. For once it would be nice to have things just go our way without problems. I didn’t think that was too much to ask.
If we were lucky there would be enough parts for me to patch things together to get us flying again even if it was only our sub light engines. At least we might be able to get somewhere.
One problem at a time. I needed to check on Max. I took one last look at the systems to make sure that nothing was going to blow up and then made my way to the infirmary.
Scurcain lined the hallway. The women were tending to the male warriors. They looked like they had taken a beating. Strix got up when he saw me approaching.
He put his hand on my shoulder. “Thank you for getting us out of there. I should have let you do things differently from the beginning. Maybe it would have spared some of our people.”
I met Strix’s eyes. “This isn’t your fault, Strix. The orion did this. Not you. It is hard to say what may have happened had we done things differently. We can’t blame ourselves for what we think we should’ve done. There isn’t anything we can do to change the past. We must keep moving forward.” I knew what it was like to lose people. To hold that guilt on yourself. I hoped that he could find solace and peace.
“I hope Max is okay. You have a very brave mate. Our women owe her their lives,” Strix said.
“Thanks.” I bowed my head and then hurried into the infirmary.
Max was tucked into a bed fast asleep. I took her hand in mine and kissed it. My other hand went to her forehead. There was a nasty gash on it and her lip was swelling from where she’d been hit.
“I gave her a sedative to help her sleep,” Suzie said as she came up to me.
“Is she okay?” I asked.
“She required eight stitches in her forehead. She will have nasty bruising around her lips and mouth, and I believe she has a mild concussion. Her hearing loss should only be temporary. Both eardrums were ruptured,” Suzie said. “She should make a full recovery. I’ve treated her injuries and there should be no scarring either.”
I nodded taking in Suzie’s words. “Hearing loss?” I asked. How had that happened.
“It is quite strange, Sir. Multiple people have the same injuries to their ears. Something major would’ve had to have happened to cause that to so many people.”
I frowned. It took me a moment to realize what had happened. It had been me. I’d hurt her. I took a step back. I gritted my teeth and shook my head. No. How could I have done this to her? Gods, it had been an accident, but I caused her pain.
“Her hearing will return?” I swallowed hard. I’d never forgive myself if it didn’t.
“Yes. It will come faster if she is in the pod, but it should return to normal in a few weeks regardless,” Suzie said.
“When can she go in the pod?” I asked. “Is she in pain?”
“The initial rupture would’ve caused some pain more than likely, but it shouldn’t bother her anymore. And the hearing loss is temporary.” Suzie looked at Max and then to the healing pods. “I tried to get her to go in one, but she refused. She wanted the more critically injured to go before her.”
That sounded like something Max would say. “Let me know when she wakes.” I pressed a kiss to Max’s forehead. It was going to be a long night of trying to repair the ship. I wished Max were awake to talk to me and help. I still couldn’t believe that I’d hurt her. God, how could I ever apologize. Would she forgive me? I would do anything to earn her forgiveness.
First, I needed to get this ship going again. It wouldn’t matter if she forgave me if we were stuck drifting. We’d be dead inside a month, maybe less. We were way over capacity on this ship. The life support was working, but it would struggle to keep up with all the people. That didn’t even compare to the food. We had some rations, but not nearly enough to feed this many people for any given length of time.
This ship needed to get moving again or we were dead. I hadn’t gotten us off that planet to die in space. Max still needed to get home to her family. I wouldn’t fail her.
I made my way back to the bridge and took the captain’s chair again. I pulled up the logs and ran a report of all major systems. As long as we had engines and life support, I could get us somewhere to do major repairs.
